Devotion for 29 May (Sunday) 2011 Anno Domini (Ezek 36:25-38)

Devotion for 29 May (Sunday) 2011 Anno Domini (Ezek 36:25-38)
“25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.29 I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.30 And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.31 Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.32 Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.33 Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded.34 And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. 35And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.36 Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it.37 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.38 As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the LORD.” (Ezek 36:25-38)
“Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.” This sprinkling is not the actual cleansing itself, but like Baptism, it is a visible and outward sign of the inward and spiritual grace with which we are endowed when our hearts are converted and we come to the Lord. The vessel is cleaned within, before it is wholesome to drink from, and then without.. (Psalms 51:7).
“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.” The engine of this ‘new spirit’ is love. The old heart of stone (like unto the tables themselves upon which the Commandments were first written) will be replaced by a heart of tender flesh that is capable of feeling and love. “Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. “ (2 Cor 3:3). Interesting to note from this verse quoted that WE are the epistle, or letter, of Christ. Our lives are a book written of our love for Christ. May the book end well! This city is not divided into caliphates or counties, but all are One – the family of God, or all of Israel!
“And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” It is this new Spirit which wills to obey God’s Commandments through the agency of that will formed by love, and not compulsion, as in the case of those Commandments written on tables of stone. This represents a fundamental change in our natures when we are blessed with the Holy Spirit to be our constant heart-companion. Common table salt is composed of two elements – both deadly if consumed in their pure state – sodium and chlorine. But when joined together, a compound is formed which is not only useful, but essential, to life. Such are our dead hearts when joined to a God who can only countenance judgment in His dealings toward us. That judgment is satisfied in the propitiatory death of His only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ! The old, dead man, condemned by the Law, becomes a gloriously living Creature in Christ.
“And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.” Where is this land? It is the estate of the blessed – the Holy City of God, not made with hands. It is that city and country made clear in Hebrews: “12Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable. 13These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.” (Heb 11:12-16)
“I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.” Yes, the very name of our Lord (in the Greek and Hebrew) signifies salvation – ‘Jehovah is salvation’. The One who called the worlds into being will also call for the corn and wheat – the increase of the earth – to nourish His people. For those who are rebellious, He calls not for corn, but famine: “Moreover He called for famine upon the land: He break the whole staff of bread.” (Ps 105:16). “And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.” It is God who ALWAYS gives the increase and not the labor of our own hands. “And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.”
“Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.” The Holy Spirit, if we study and know Scripture, will bring all things of Christ to our remembrance. “…….and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” (Zech 12:10). Is this not cause for deep remorse as well as joy and gratitude on our parts?
“Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.” Not because of our own worth or merit does God grant Grace and forgiveness, but for the sake of His only Begotten Son who died for our sins. This Grace was given before the worlds were formed, in Christ, for He foreknew His Elect and Chosen.
“Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.” God will make all things new and of a new character and spirit – even those things of His own Creation. He has placed within the hearts of His people a new spirit and a new heart. He will change the nature of a ruined Creation into a glorious and new Creation according to His Word. “Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” (Rev 21:5-7). Our lives, too, shall become fenced from the world of evil and fenced to the Word of God.
“Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it.” Can there be any stronger surety than the Word of the Lord? Those places that appear worthless and barren, He shall restore to abundant pastures. This is not only akin to the vacant fields of our present world, but the empty and ruined (by sin) chambers of our hearts. He shall make these new and overflowing with the fountains of Living Waters.
“Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.” Though the Lord may tarry in bringing to pass those things promised, His people shall seek and beseech Him to come and restore righteousness to their land. We in America today are besieged by every wicked and evil notion. The reality of our society is dead to God and alive to sin. The Temple columns are falling and the wicked have gained the seat of authority. How shall this be amended? “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chron 7:14). It is important to note that ALL the inhabitants of our land are not called to prayer and repentance – only those “which are called by my name.” Too many in America and South Korea, and England, and Indonesia, and India and every other nation on the face of the earth, are only called by His name, but are not identified otherwise by character, love, or commitment, to fulfilling His Will in their private and national lives.
“As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the LORD.” And what of the ‘solemn feasts’ of the church? In our observance, in the Anglican tradition of the Church Calendar, we are made mindful of all of the accounts of the life of Christ and the profound events of the Gospel. The Church, if it is true, is the Holy Flock of God. In the days of the Old Testament period, there were three great annual festivals (Passover, Pentecost, and Feast of Tabernacles). At the time of these feasts, great flocks of the choicest of sacrificial animals were brought up to the Holy city of Jerusalem for sacrifice. – Jamieson-Fausset-Brown. Do we bring, in our day, droves of Living Sacrifices to Christ? “ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1). Unlike those who would sacrifice Christ anew at every Mass, we must acknowledge that the only sacrifice that will suffice for the covering of our sins has already been made, once and for all, by the only One who was qualified and worthy to make that sacrifice – our Lord Jesus Christ! There remains a sacrifice of another type which the Lord would have in His people: “For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. (Psalms 51:16-17) Church, do we bring this desired sacrifice to God in our day?